Iran to hold President Raisi's funeral procession today

The funeral prayers of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday in the mountains of the East Azerbaijan province, will be offered in the northern city of Tabriz today. 

“The funeral ceremonies for the president and his companions will take place Tuesday at 9:30 am local time (0600 GMT) in Tabriz,” the official IRNA news agency said.

Later, the bodies of the deceased will be transported by plane to the central Iranian city of Qom,  a place known for venerated shrines and religious seminaries where Raisi received his education. 

After the ceremonies at Qom, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead the congregational funeral prayers for the Iranian president and other deceased officials in Tehran.

Ebrahim Raisi will be laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad, near the shrine of Imam Reza. 

News of Raisi’s demise has plunged citizens in Mashhad and Qom into grief, while a five-day period of mourning is being observed nationwide from today.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has assumed the presidential duties, while Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani has been appointed as acting foreign minister. The acting president will hold presidential elections in the next 50 days.

The 63-year-old Raisi was in Azerbaijan early on Sunday to inaugurate a dam alongside his counterpart Ilham Aliyev. After the ceremony, Raisi and his entourage departed in a convoy of three helicopters to inaugurate another project, losing contact shortly after departure.

"At around 1 pm, the president left Tabriz to inaugurate two projects, but the helicopter lost contact shortly after leaving," the head of the search and rescue teams, Mohsen Mansouri told the media.

"Three helicopters left Tabriz, but, half an hour later, two lost contact with the one carrying the president," he added.

The entire army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was ordered to assist with the rescue mission.

More than 65 search and rescue teams, medical crews and drones were sent to the area near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan, some 375 miles north-west of Tehran.

Iran's Interior Minister attributed the crash to foggy weather. State media reported that rescuers located the helicopter's wreckage after a Turkish Akinci drone identified two "heat sources" in the village of Tawal.